we'll be a dream
by rawrchelle
Summary: Sasuke/Sakura. AU. Contrary to popular belief, Sasuke does have love to express. He just doesn’t do it in ways you’d expect, and he doesn’t do it to you. Sasuke and Sakura, from start to finish, and maybe a little beyond that.


**suggested listening:** spin – we the kings (personally, i liked their first album more, even though this one is still pretty awesome. opinions?)**  
notes:** i would suggest reading this in one go for maximum emotional impact, but hey, you guys always read my stuff in one go, right? ;)

* * *

"Are you allowed to stay out this late?"

"My parents know I'm with you anyway." She sighed, snuggling closer to him. He let her, because it was night and it was chilly outside, even with their blanket. She was going to catch a cold otherwise. "And they know how emotionally constipated you are, so there's no way we'd do anything inappropriate."

He wasn't sure whether it was a compliment or an insult, but he let it slide, because it meant he could be with her.

"Hn."

.

.

.

**we'll be a dream**_  
so let's make champagne rain down from the sky, and toast to the night._

.

.

.

_volume i: sakura._

It was the first day of kindergarten, and she was scared.

"Alright, partner up now!" Classmates found their friends, and outgoing boys asked the pretty girls—but she was left alone, in the middle of the classroom at her desk—small and unnoticeable, even with her strange hair.

"Sakura-chan?" She looked up when her teacher called her. "You don't have a partner?" She shook her head wordlessly. "Why don't you partner up with Sasuke-kun, then? He's sitting back there." She turned around and found a boy in the corner, drawing on a piece of paper. She hesitated, before making her way over to him. He didn't look up when she reached him, and she clasped her little hands behind her back, nervous.

"Hi," she said shyly, blushing a little. "I'm Sakura."

"One sec."

She blinked. "Huh?"

"Just one sec! I want to finish my picture!" She peered over to see his drawing, confused when she realized that it was one of a tomato.

"Do you like tomatoes?" she asked when he put down his red crayon and held the piece of paper up with pride.

"I love them!"

She smiled, then. "I like umeboshi onigiri. My mommy makes the best ones!"

And that was how she found her first friend.

* * *

"Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun!" She found him in the usual place on the school grounds; he said he liked it there a lot more than home. "Look!"

"What?"

"My dress!" She spun around, giggling. "Isn't it pretty? My daddy got it for my birthday."

When his eyes scanned her, she clasped her hands behind her back, trying to hide her blush. "How old are you again? Nine?"

"Ten!" she corrected, frowning. "And you be quiet—I'm older than you!"

"Only by four months." But he smiled anyway as she sat down beside him in the grass. "And close your legs. That's rude."

"_You're_ rude!" she retorted, sticking her tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes and returned to his book. She hummed a random tune that she made up in her head, looking around them. There was a little yellow butterfly, perched upon a blade of grass right beside her leg. Silence fell around them, and then she said: "Mommy and Daddy were fighting again." She kind of felt like crying, but Sasuke would think she was a baby if she did.

"What about?"

"They said I should go to a better school—Daddy says I'm too good for this place, but Mommy says I have friends here, and that's more important." She hugged her knees to her chest. "Daddy gave me this dress so he could per—persuade me to change schools. I told him I would think about it."

"You shouldn't use words you can't even say properly yet."

"You say persu—persuade all the time, though!"

Sasuke lay down on the grass, using his arms as a pillow. She watched him for a moment—he was so handsome. "Well, do you want to stay here?"

"You're here, so yeah…" There was nothing else she wanted.

He was quiet for a moment. "My parents said that I'll be homeschooled when we start middle school, so it doesn't make that much of a difference." She blinked, staring at him.

"You're going to be homeschooled?" She felt betrayed. He had never said anything about this before—but then again, Sasuke never told her anything, unless she pried it out of him. She looked away, biting her lip with the first of the tears slipped down her cheek.

"I don't want to, though."

"Can't you just _say_ so, then? Geez, you're always being bullied by your parents! They don't even try to per—persuade you!" Her voice was shaking. She wished it wasn't.

"I can't just say _no_, Sakura—you know that. I wish I could. Then…then I would see you more." When he looked up at her, she hastily wiped away her tears, lying down next to him and snuggling up close. He moved away. She came closer. He sighed, and stayed where he was. "Stop doing that. It's creepy."

"I do that with Daddy all of the time!"

"Do I _look_ like your daddy to you?" She flinched at his words, wishing he'd just stop. Too much was happening all at once—they were going to be _apart_—she didn't want to fight anymore.

"I don't care where I am—I just want to be with you. You're the only friend I have."

"What about Ino?"

"She—she's different. You're Sasuke. Sasuke is…Sasuke. Sasuke is special."

"Either way, we can't be together for much longer. I'm going to be homeschooled."

She was quiet. "Then…I'll change schools."

She sat there, wondering how many more chances she'd get to spend time with him like this.

* * *

The summer before their second year of middle school, Sasuke was involved in a minor kidnapping.

They still kept in contact after they couldn't see each other every day—e-mails, phone calls, and meeting up whenever possible—but Sasuke's parents were strict, and the expectations of Sakura's parents grew along with her piles of homework from her new, more academic school. They saw each other rarely.

They happened to be together on that day—she had the summer off, and he only had classes in the morning—and they were walking down the street with ice cream cones in their hands—Sakura eating hers happily, Sasuke's barely touched, only being licked when it was about to melt and dribble down the side.

"Do you think I should cut my hair short?" she asked, pulling at a lock of her hair. "It's so long now."

"Do whatever you want."

"Well, what do you like?" She had always adjusted herself to whatever he liked—she had always wanted to make him happy. He had never been one to smile a lot. Her hair was this long now, because she heard back in elementary that he liked girls with long hair. But she was skeptical about it now.

He rolled his eyes. "Does it really matter? It's your hair."

"It does kind of get in the way…well, if I cut it short, how short should it be?"

It was then that he looked at her, studying her appearance. She jutted her chin out and the bounce in her walk grew a little. "How about just at your chin? Like when we were little." She flushed, happy that he remembered how her hair was back when they were younger.

"Then I think I'll get it cut tomorrow—oh my God!" Someone had sprung out from the alley they were just passing, grabbing Sasuke behind and pulling him in. His ice cream cone splattered onto the ground. "Sasuke?" A part of her told her that it was dangerous to follow; she should call the police—but the police would take too long and what if Sasuke (_her precious, precious Sasuke_) was hurt? So she sprinted right after them, into the alley.

"What do you want?" she demanded, her voice bouncing off the brick walls on either side of her. The man who took Sasuke had a knife held to his throat, expression menacing.

"Just shut up and leave, girl. Go find yourself another boyfriend. You don't have to be involved."

"He's not my boyfriend!" she yelled indignantly. "Just—just put down the knife! You could kill him!"

"That would be the point," he drawled. Then, he looked down at Sasuke, and pressed the knife harder against his throat, drawing blood. Sakura paled. "Yo, kid. You don't happen to have a phone on you, do you?"

Sasuke glared at him defiantly, before shifting his gaze onto her. "Sakura, get out of here."

Her eyes were wide and frightened, instincts screaming at her to run. "But—"

"Just shut up and get out of here!" His expression was fierce, dark eyes blazing and jaw set. For a moment, she stopped breathing.

Sasuke had never yelled at her before.

"I—I'll get help, I swear!" And then she turned on her heels and raced away, her long-forgotten ice cream cone falling from her hand. She heard the man swear, but didn't look back. Tears were brimming at her eyes and all she could do was run—farther and farther away from Sasuke and danger and _oh my God what if he died?_

"Hello? Hello?" She could barely speak coherently into her phone, tripping over her own words. "My friend—my friend's in trouble—"

"Just one moment, Miss—what's your name?"

"There's no _time_ for names!" she shrieked. "He—he's just a little ways down from the ice cream stand beside Ichiraku's—you have to—" She was cut off when someone snatched the phone from her hand, dropping it to the sidewalk and crushing it with a foot. She felt faint.

"I appreciate your concern for my little brother, but I can't have you calling the police," an icy voice whispered into her ear. She froze, unable to even run.

It only took a moment for the person behind her to move away, and when she spun around, she saw an older boy—a man, maybe—she couldn't tell—sprinting down the sidewalk, until he turned sharply into the alley that she had just run out of.

Everything in her said that she should go back to help Sasuke in whatever way she could, and that she'd regret it later if she didn't—but she couldn't find herself to move. Not forward, and not backward.

Sakura had never felt so pathetic in her entire life.

(_Sasuke made her shine. Without Sasuke, she was nothing._)

Suddenly crying very hard, she fell to the ground, her small frame shaking with sobs. She was aware of the people who were looking at her oddly as they walked around her, like the way a current sped over a pebble—she was nothing but a pebble—a useless, worthless pebble—

_Sorry, Sasuke. I'm so sorry…_

After what seemed like eternity, she felt someone's arm around her shoulders. She had run out of tears to cry, but her eyes were still puffy, and she had the hiccups.

"Sakura."

Time seemed to freeze for a moment.

"S…Sasuke?" Her head turned slowly, disbelievingly—she didn't want to hope, didn't want to realize that she'd just cried away all of her sanity and was hallucinating her him now—

But he was there. And he was safe.

The tears she thought she had ran out of came again, but at the same time, she was laughing. "Oh my God—you're safe—thank God—" The cut on his throat was still there, but that was all of that damage he had sustained. "You're safe…"

That was the first time he had let her hug him in public.

* * *

That afternoon, Sasuke took her home. Her parents were surprised at the state both of them were in, but didn't ask questions until he was gone.

He stayed for hours, refusing dinner as well when she said she wasn't hungry. He told her about his family for the first time—how they ran the police force in the city, how his brother, Itachi, had been disowned, and how he had been having financial problems lately, resulting in unpaid debts. Her twelve-year-old brain didn't understand everything, but she understood enough.

She had bandaged up his neck—it looked worse than the cut itself, because now, it appeared as though he was beheaded, and she had to tie his head back on.

"Sorry I didn't come back…" She tried to smile meekly, but it didn't work. "I was scared…"

He shrugged. "I would've gotten angry if you did."

"That's not the point!" How could he even think that? "You were—you were in trouble. You're the one person I can trust, and I'm the one person you've ever had—I can't just _run_ like that! That—what kind of friend does that make me?" She could feel the tears coming on again, but she bit her tongue to stop it. She had to stop crying.

Sasuke was quiet, but shifted so he sat a little closer to her on her bed. "It was a normal reaction. It's okay."

She looked down. "I'll be better next time."

"There won't be a next time, but if it makes you feel better, okay."

* * *

A few months later, Sasuke's father died in action, while chasing down the gang that had lent Itachi money—the gang that was beating up his oldest son (disowned, but he was still his son) in an alleyway. (Ironically, the same one that Sasuke had been captured in.)

Things changed after that.

_

* * *

volume ii: sasuke._

"I love you." She was sixteen—older, more intelligent, more mature—but somehow, still as stupid as ever. He ignored the way his heart was swelling up.

"Hn."

"Hn?" she said incredulously. "I just confessed to you, and you say _hn_? Just so you know, that's not even an actual word."

He shrugged. "It's not as if I didn't know." But his heart wouldn't stop beating erratically and his palms were still sweaty and he wondered when all of this started.

"Ugh, whatever. I give up." She flopped onto his bed, burying her face into his pillow. He couldn't stop himself from wondering the _what ifs_—what if this wasn't his bed, but _their_ bed—what if this was _their_ house, _their_ life—

Scowling, he turned on his spinny chair to face his desk.

"Y'know, it's okay if you don't say it, 'cause I know you love me too. You need me." Still as perceptive as ever, but that wasn't going to stop him from denying it. He grunted. "And can you start speaking in regular sentences again? I swear to God, you've been talking that way for _years_—stop it!"

"Sakura, shut up."

It was a moment before she giggled. "Okay."

* * *

She was trying not to cry. He could tell. Since that day, she'd done everything she could not to cry in front of him.

"My parents are getting divorced. Funny, isn't it? It's been years, and they've only just come to this conclusion. My dad's moving to America—he said he wants to take me with him. Apparently, there's this really prestigious university…with my marks, I'd be able to get in pretty easily."

It seemed like fate had something against them being together—first him being homeschooled, and now this.

He didn't know if he could survive it this time.

"There's no pretty dress this time?" he asked, trying to appear aloof. It worked.

Her smile didn't reach her eyes. "No pretty dress this time. My dad said that my mom couldn't deter his decisions anymore—and you know me; I can't stand to make him disappointed. He's always wanted the best for me." He didn't speak. He didn't know what to say. "I'll be moving after this school year."

He didn't miss a beat. "That's a month from now."

"Yeah." Her voice was shaking. "Apparently, the schooling is different over there, though. Did you know their school year starts in September, and not January?"

"Hn. Will you come back during the holidays?"

"I…really hope so. I don't know, though. Nothing's really been decided yet—Mom and Dad are more concerned with their divorce and my acceptance papers. Things are kind of rushed, you know? With only a month to go." She was coming apart at the seams, and he couldn't bear it. Here he was, the broken boy, dulled and faded away, and he couldn't do anything to make her smile. He had always done it so effortlessly in the past—so what was the problem now?

"This is life," he said. "When it moves, we have to move with it."

She didn't appear surprised by this remark. "Yeah. What about you? Have you thought about your future?" She always went on about being a doctor—this university would be good for her. Sasuke repeated that to himself like a mantra.

(_Don't go, don't go, please._)

"I was considering business." He had always admired how bright her eyes were. They were complete opposites—light and dark, yin and yang.

"Oh? Not a policeman?"

He scowled. "I have never wanted to follow in the steps of my father." His voice was tight, strained.

"That's a lie," she whispered. "That's a lie, and you know it. You—you've always loved and respected your dad so much. I know you never told me about your family or how you felt about anything, but I can tell, you know. You can't just assume that I'm blind. I _know_."

He found it difficult to avoid her stare. "I know you know."

"Then stop pretending as if I _don't_!" She wiped away the tears roughly before they had time to escape.

He glared at her. "Are you trying to make a point? We've strayed from the original topic."

She opened her mouth, about to say something, before shutting it again. "Let's just make the best of this month, okay? Can we spend Christmas together?"

Despite everything, he couldn't refuse her request. "Hn."

* * *

"Can you believe that this'll be our last night together?" He didn't answer, because he couldn't think of anything he could say that'd make her happy.

"This won't," he said, determined. "This isn't."

She smiled softly. "I'd like to think that, you know? But, I mean—we'll be across the world from each other. It'll be impossible to catch each other at the right times. And e-mails…well, you've never liked them much." Two months into sending e-mails to each other back in middle school, he had deemed it stupid, and stopped sending them. Having conversations over the computer and receiving replies as long as a day later was not efficient at all.

"It'll work." It had to work. It _had_ to.

"I admire your determination, Sasuke, but why now? Why now, when we have no time left?"

It took a moment for him to form his words. "You're a large part of my life. Whether I like it or not, you are…important to me." _Special. Essential. Necessary._ "And for you to leave me—it would be an understatement to say that I would be upset."

They were six when they met. It'd been over ten years, and they were seventeen now—and during their years together, Sasuke had never found it in him to tell her how much he cared.

(_Maybe that was an understatement too. Maybe he loved her. Maybe he was _in_ love with her._)

And now, it was his last chance—it was right at the tip of his tongue, ready to shape into words that just might make her stay and _oh God, please stay, just stay_—

He said nothing.

That night, she stood up on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to his in a chaste kiss. He didn't kiss her back, but he didn't pull away either. He didn't hold her close, like the way he'd always wanted to. He didn't do anything—something that always seemed to happen when he was with her.

"This is probably the most clichéd thing ever, but, um, I love you." It was the second time she said it to him. It would be the last.

He closed his eyes. "I know."

_

* * *

volume iii: it's quiet, oh so quiet here._

The first year ticked along. Sakura cried behind closed doors, and Sasuke tried hard not to think.

The second year came and went. Sakura stood up straighter, and Sasuke wondered if they still saw the same stars in the night sky.

The third year arrived, and then the fourth, and the fifth, and then the sixth. Sakura learned how to smile without him, and Sasuke never smiled again.

The tenth year made an old grandfather clock chime twelve times in a quiet house somewhere, reminding everyone that resolutions had to be made and promises had to be kept and hearts had to be mended. Sakura graduated from medical school; chin high, sure that he'd be proud.

And Sasuke? Sasuke finally gave up.

_

* * *

volume iv: we were never meant to be star-crossed._

Twenty-eight and still a dreamer, Haruno Sakura approached her professor from med school—but she didn't see her as a professor—more of a councilor, a mentor.

"Tsunade-sensei, do you think it would be possible for me to complete my internship in Tokyo?"

"Tokyo?" The older women arched an eyebrow. "Why Tokyo?"

Sakura smiled at fond memories of a boy with dark hair and secret starlit eyes. "It's just my home. I don't want to be away from there for longer than I have to. You grew up in Tokyo too, didn't you?" It would be silly of her to assume he'd still be there—but she would hope, and she would wish. She would dream.

"Mm, yeah." Tsunade thought for a moment. "It would probably be safer to finish your first year of internship here first. Then you can continue with your residency in Tokyo—it'd provide more stability."

Sakura stood up a little straighter. "Okay." It'd been ten years. She could handle one more.

* * *

"Sasuke?" He looked up from his morning newspaper, glancing at Hiroko, his girlfriend. It was odd—he wasn't supposed to see her until their date tonight. Funny that she knew where he was—he was always at the same café for breakfast, but was never aware that she took note of it.

"What brings you here?"

She shuffled on her feet, looking a little nervous. She was usually outspoken—it reminded him of a girl he loved, long ago. He still loved her, but held no hope in finding her again. "Well, you see, there's this thing—we've been going out for about eight months now, and I really…I really like you. And the thing is, my dad is kind of urging me—and I talked to your mother, too! She's totally up for it! And—"

"Just get on with it." He closed his eyes, suppressing a sigh. Hiroko was a nice girl. She just wasn't _his_ girl.

"Well, um…well, Sasuke…" The entire café went quiet then, leaving the soft jazz music playing in the background. When he opened his eyes, his skin turned to a deathly pale color. "Will you marry me?"

He couldn't speak. Couldn't think. Couldn't _breathe_.

She looked at him with earnest, honest eyes—and finally, he sucked in a breath, and said shortly, "Get off your knee. You look ridiculous."

"Well, I had to do _something_!" she said indignantly. "God knows you're never going to be the one proposing, and—and I really, really want to spend the rest of my life with you." She trailed off, eyes falling to her feet. "Here. Just take it." She all but slammed the velvet box onto the table, blushing furiously. He took it delicately in his hands, gazing at its contents. It was a simple ring—a silver band. At least she had the decency to not make a joke out of it and have jewels set into it.

It was all up to him. If he accepted, he would be bound forever to this woman who could make a smile ghost past his lips, but never make him want to declare to the world that she was his and only his. If he declined, he would lose his only chance at a wisp of happiness—but he might, he just _might_ see her again—

He wouldn't take risks. Sasuke wasn't selfless enough to.

"We'll need to get you a proper engagement ring," he said grudgingly, slipping the ring onto his finger. Hiroko stared at him, before beaming.

The café erupted into applause, but he barely heard it.

* * *

She purchased a little apartment, butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she admired her new home. In one week, she'd be a resident at Tokyo Hospital.

In a mere three days, she had unpacked her belongings and settled down. Determined to have a good start, she headed out to the supermarket to fill up her fridge. Milk, eggs…and maybe some tomatoes. Yeah. Tomatoes.

For everything fate had done to them in the past, it was surprisingly kind now. She bumped into him at the supermarket—the last place she expected to see him, because he had never bought groceries for himself, let alone his family. He was pushing a shopping cart, filled with various foods and many tomatoes.

"Sasuke?" Her surprise masked her joy completely. "That's you, right? Sasuke?"

He looked at her for a long moment. "Sakura."

The relief and the absolute perfection of it all was overwhelming. "Oh my God—I didn't expect to see you here, of all places! I moved back here just a couple of days ago—I'm going to be a doctor! I mean, not that you didn't know that, what with how I always went on about it." She blushed a little when she realized she was babbling. "But anyway—how've you been? We really have to catch up!" The way he was standing was kind of tense; his knuckles were turning white, with how hard he was gripping his cart. "Are you okay?"

"Sasuke! There's some cup ramen on sale over there! Maybe we should stock up?" A woman around her age, with hazelnut hair and shining eyes walked up to them. Sasuke looked at her, almost as if being torn out of their conversation.

"We don't even eat cup ramen," he said, tone clipped. The girl quirked an eyebrow.

And that was when Sakura noticed—sitting right above his white knuckles was a ring. For a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

"Hiroko, this is Sakura, my childhood friend," Sasuke said. When Hiroko smiled at her, it took everything to make her smile look just as genuine. "Sakura, this is Hiroko. My fiancée."

"Fiancée?" she couldn't help but ask, confused. "But your ring…"

"Oh, I proposed to him," Hiroko said, a faint blush gracing on her cheeks. "Funny, huh?" Sakura's heart lurched, and she wasn't quite sure what to feel. She had thought he waited.

She had thought he _waited_.

"Funny," she echoed, laughing. It sounded empty.

"I thought we agreed to never speak if that again," Sasuke cut in, glaring at his fiancée. Hiroko merely giggled and linked their arms together. Sakura swallowed, staring at this image of Sasuke with the woman that he'd be with for the rest of his life, and—

Where did that leave her?

* * *

He found her at the hospital, all frazzled and sleep-deprived.

"Sasuke!" She ran a hand through her bright hair, pulling a hair elastic from the pocket of her white coat and tying it up. "What brings you here?"

"Is there somewhere private where we can talk?" His hands clenched into fists inside the pockets of his suit. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. _This was not how it was supposed to be._

"Actually, my shift just ended. If you would give me a sec, I could change and we could go back to my place. I live just down the block from here." He frowned. Obviously, she was much too tired—otherwise, she wouldn't invite him into her home like that. But he said nothing, and nodded once.

She looked so small, with the way she was walking away from him.

"Here, I'll make some tea," she said when they arrived, dropping her bag onto her couch and rushing into the kitchen.

"No need. I won't be staying for long anyway." There were several times in his life when he absolutely hated himself for the things he'd done—or sometimes, the things he hadn't done—but this was most likely the worst of all of it. He looked around the apartment; there were still some cardboard boxes stacked against the wall, but it was otherwise neat. His pursed his lips.

Sakura popped her head out from the kitchen. "Are you sure?" Her expression told him that she wished he would stay.

"Yes," he said quickly. If he reconsidered it, he'd stay. And he would never leave.

"Okay. What did you want to talk about?"

He had practiced this several times before he came—he'd written and rewritten his speech, memorized it down to the very letter and in what way he'd say it. He had calculated her responses and interruptions and where they'd be, and accommodated them. And even now, the words were engraved in his mind, but somehow, they didn't seem right—Sakura deserved more than a planned speech.

"I'm sorry." And he could say no more.

She blinked. "For what? Getting engaged and moving on with your life?" Her eyes were already shining with tears—_the green that he'd been dreaming of for years and years and years_—"Sasuke, we didn't make any promises. We knew it'd only leave a bitter taste in our mouths in the end—and really, who could blame us? We were still children—hardly the people we are now. I was just a girl with too many aspirations, and you—well, you…" She swallowed. "You always valued your pride too much."

Silence fell around them, and Sakura looked down at her feet. Sasuke glanced around, and the painting above the fireplace caught his eye—except it wasn't really a painting—more of a picture, a drawing—

"The tomato," he said.

She followed his gaze. "Oh, yeah. You gave that to me when you first met, right? That picture…it seems kind of creepy, but I framed it. It holds sentimental value." She paused. "You know, I didn't think I did, but I do—I still love you. And it's so wrong because you're engaged and all, but—please forgive me. This'll give me closure. I—I need _closure_."

Sasuke had never been one to be very expressive. The most people got out of him was a frown or a scowl—but Sakura could make him giggle when they were children, make him roll his eyes when they were teenagers, make him want to cry when they were teetering on the edge of adulthood—Sakura made him live.

For her, the least he could do was try to express his love.

_When he gave her his drawing of a tomato the first day they met._

This time, it was him who stepped closer to her, his hand brushing the stray lock of hair out of her bright eyes. She looked up at him, and he felt his heart overflow with emotions.

_When he let her take him to her high school prom as her date, dancing every slow dance with her, and running barefoot outside in the fields with her afterwards when the sprinklers came on, her strappy heels hanging off her fingers._

It was him who kissed her, making sure to remember this moment for the rest of his life. It was her who didn't kiss back. He felt her bottom lip tremble under his mouth.

_When he went along with it when she told Rock Lee that he was her boyfriend, and that they had a date tonight, which was why she couldn't go out with him. It was a lie, but he took her out anyway—candlelit dinner and all. After much puppy dog-eyes, even kissed her goodnight on the cheek._

He stepped away, clearing his throat. They couldn't be friends after this. Neither of them would be able to handle it, and he knew it.

"I tried." _He honestly, honestly tried._

She smiled softly. "And that's enough."

.

.

.

Ironically, Sakura was the one who helped Hiroko give birth to their first child a little over a year later. He, his wife, and his newborn son sat in the hospital room together, and he saw his life unravel before his eyes. It hit him again, how bittersweet it would be.

Hiroko was asleep in her bed, and his son (Fugaku—yes, Fugaku was a good name) was fascinated by the fact that Sasuke's bangs were within his reach. As Sasuke cradled his son, he glanced out the window and saw a flash of pink. From the second floor, it was easy to tell that Sakura was laughing to whomever she was speaking to. There was a man walking beside her—long, dark hair and pale eyes. He smirked before lacing their fingers together, pulling her a little closer. Sasuke recognized him to be the brain surgeon that she had spoken to earlier today.

He pressed a soft kiss to Fugaku's forehead. This was how it should be.

**

* * *

The Way I See It #232**

"You simply can't make someone love you if they don't. You must choose someone who already loves you. If you choose someone who does not love you, this is the sort of love you must want."

**- Israel Horovitz**_  
Playwright/screenwriter, from his new play, _The Secret of Mme. Bonnard's Bath

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a/n:** man, i really went all-out on this one. this must sound really terrible, but i really hope your heart broke. :) i've been wanting to write something like this for the longest time.

(and just so you know, volume one was the hardest part to write. i hate writing weak sakura. weak sakura pisses me off.)

nejisaku at the end because i felt sakura deserved happiness. 8D


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